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Additional material by Hugh Wheeler Directed and Choreographed by
Amon Miyamoto
With B.D. Wong, Bondoc, Evan D'Angeles, Rick Edinger, Joseph Anthony Foronda, Yoko
Fumoto, Alvin Y. F. Ing, Fred Isozaki, Francis Jue, Darren Lee, Hoon Lee, Michael K. Lee, Ming
Lee, Telly Leung, Paolo Montalban, Alan Muraoka, Mayumi Omagari, Daniel Jay Park, Hazel
Anne Raymundo, Sab Shimono, Yuka Takara, Kim Varhola and Scott Watanabe.
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, Music Direction by Paul Gemignani, Set and Masks by
Rumi Matsui, Costume Design by Junko Koshino, Lighting Design by Brian MacDevitt
Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54. Through January 30, 2005
It’s 1853 and Admiral Perry is about to visit Japan, along with the Russians, the French, the Dutch and a
few others. It is a floating city, and the people believe that it will stay unchanged forever. It doesn’t, of
course. This musical originally broke ground in the theatre because it was told and performed from the
point of view of the people who were being invaded. It is here that our loyalties lie as we watch our
country invade them.
This is a beautiful production. Sondheim. Nuts about him. Please. How does he write like this?
Extraordinary. As well, this is deep reminder that there are Asian actors who are not being used in plays
because the parts are not “Asian” specific. We assume that parts are for white people and cast that way.
The power people are still white so the casting is. Snore. And may I just say that there is a portrait of B.
D.Wong that is aging somewhere. Jeepers.
The cast is crisp and clear. Especially Michael K. Lee, whose character loses his wife, transforms from
Eastern to Western, and loses his life while we watch. But this was not a moving production, and I don’
t know why. It just had no heart for me. Beauty and style, but no hook. It’s an odd feeling. Everything
was there, and little was touching me. I wanted and wanted it to. But it was as though the show and I
were not in the same theatre. I could see their lips moving but I could hardly feel a thing they said.